For fans of true crime, the slow unraveling of a murder's cause and the complex relationships that lead to it can be endlessly compelling. Pentiment, a critically acclaimed title from Obsidian Entertainment, offers precisely this kind of suspenseful investigation within a medieval setting.
Originally released in 2022 for Xbox and later ported to PC, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation, Pentiment casts players as Andreas Mahler, a traveling artist temporarily residing in the Bavarian town of Tassing while working at the nearby Kiersau Abbey. The game begins by allowing players to shape Andreas' background through dialogue choices, influencing his past travels, academic interests, and language proficiencies. This character foundation sets the stage for an investigation into a local murder, which gradually reveals other crimes and secrets tied to Tassing's hidden history.
The narrative spans 25 years, divided into three acts, during which significant social and cultural shifts occur. Characters evolve over this period; they marry, start families, assume new responsibilities, and some will pass away. The choices made early in the game—who to trust, who to befriend, and who to accuse—have lasting repercussions throughout the roughly 15 to 20-hour experience. A notification stating "This will be remembered" often follows consequential decisions, prompting players to consider the weight of their actions.
Beyond its engaging choose-your-own-adventure structure that encourages multiple playthroughs, Pentiment distinguishes itself with a singular art style. Eschewing modern graphical engines, the game's visuals emulate the appearance and feel of centuries-old, hand-lettered manuscripts. The absence of voice acting is compensated by dialogue presented in a variety of fonts, each indicating the speaker's social standing or educational background, from peasantry to aristocracy, or university versus religious training. This stylistic choice enhances the storytelling, particularly when characters share passages from texts, bringing illuminated manuscript illustrations to life.
Pentiment succeeds in making a distant historical society feel intimate and lived-in. It provides an engrossing murder mystery where player agency directly influences the narrative's trajectory, promising a memorable experience for those seeking a thoughtful and consequential RPG.